Those who had read the last two updates on my wall, including perhaps most of the comments, would have noticed that the focus is deliberately on something much bigger. Much bigger than the NEPU/APC dichotomy. It is about a possible future progressive activism in Northern Nigeria
Most of those who contributed are those one would have ordinarily thought of as NEPU sympathisers, but their views are surprisingly very critical, balanced and to an extent even outrightly dismissive of NEPU politics and it’s class rhetorics.
Accordingly, the wordings were very measured and none had used any group label against the NPC or the establishment. On a normal day, words like reactionary, compact rulers, exploitative, repressive, and even userpers would have been freely deployed against the establishment.
NPC sympathisers may accordingly wish to not neccasarily deploy strong words like envious, irresponsible and anticultural to capture the motives, excesses and the unintended consequences of the movement. Apologies to my good friends, fellow Comrades Dr Aminu Aliyu and Mallam Ibraheem A. Waziri
This discussion chose to be different and for a purpose. Because such strong words from either side do not only have enough emotional contents to potentially derail this otherwise very important self reflection but are also just another meaningless rehash of history
‘Envy’ and ‘anticulture’ presuppose there was a default culture and power concensus that was subsisting on any moral higher ground. When even that default cultural and power concensus was itself a product of yet another anticultural movement that could have been accused of envy as well. There will always be enough blame to go round if one chooses the blame game as their only option. We shall not!
Hausaland’s power arrangements and configuration were completely different by the turn of the 19th century, and those you would insist had aristocratic privileges to protect by 1950s and 60s, were themselves descendents of outliers, and sometimes even non entities just a hundred and fifty years earlier.
The concensus view is that there were gaps, oversights and even outright errors in NEPU politics, procedures and actions. But that was never to concede the alternative (NPC) was any better or even at par
Poorly defined freedom (NEPU’s selling point) is as destructive to any society as uncritical servitude to a comfortable statusquo (NPC’s preoccupation). Under the circumstances, both NEPU and NPC had goofed. NPC perhaps morethan NEPU. Because uncritical subservience to a comfortable statusquo is a lesser virtue than dignified efforts at freeing oneself!
But like we agreed here, all that is even in the past. The mood of this debate, should be about the future. How do we organise the progressive elements across both divides (NEPU, NPC, BYC, UMBC Etal) to pursue a contemporary progressive agenda. And the SAWABA movement is not any morethan an inspiration for that future struggle. Because despite it’s excesses and many unintended negative consequences, the NEPU movement symbolised courage, hope and clarity of purpose.
To succeed in challenging any statusquo (most especially ours), one needs lots of these qualities. But if that sounds uncomfortable to some of us and is potentially divisive, we may be willing to reconsider our stand
We had only hoped to draw on these strengths as we prepare for yet another daring progressive political struggle to finally emancipate our people. But this time around, first from themsleves
Accept the guarantee that we shan’t be as rush, and presumptuous as the NEPU 8 or even pander to their politics and class sentiments and rhetorics. And we expect same from you. It is all about progresive activism
You most certainly belong with us…
